Specialized Treatments at Mental-Health Facilities

Approximately one in five adolescents experiences mental disorders with severe impairment, and one in five adults has had mild-to-severe symptoms of mental illness in the past year. According to the 2012 National Mental Health Services Survey, 13,632 mental-health treatment facilities offered services in more than one type of setting (e.g., inpatient, residential, outpatient).

Characteristics of Mental-Health Facilities:Mental-health treatment facilities provided services to adults older than 17 years (84%) and to children aged 0 to 17 years (59.6%). Outpatient clinics (57%) have been the most frequently selected sites for mental-health treatments. General hospitals treated 9.5% of patients, and residential treatment centers for adults (10.6%) and children (6.2%) treated more mental-health patients than psychiatric hospitals did (5.2%). Of the mental-health treatment facilities that were privately operated (79%), 63% were nonprofit and 16% were for-profit organizations. State mental-health agencies operated 5% of all mental-health facilities. The proportion of state mental-health agencies was highest in the South (7%), followed by the Northeast (6%), West (3%), and Midwest (2%).

Types of Services:Seventy-three percent of mental-health services were provided at facilities that had outpatient services that operated for fewer than 24 hours per day. Around-the-clock service was provided by psychiatric emergency departments (34.1%), residential service providers (24%), and hospital inpatient facilities (16%). Approximately one-third (34%) of all mental-health treatment facilities provided psychiatric emergency walk-in services, 28% offered consumer-run (peer support) services, and 27% reported that they employed a crisis-intervention team. Ninety-nine percent of Veterans Affairs medical centers offered mental-health services for fewer than 24 hours per day, whereas 23% had 24-hour hospital inpatient services. Of all mental-health treatment facilities, 58% offered services for hearing-impaired patients, 43% provided services in a language other than English, 41% had staff members who provided services in Spanish, and 19.5% offered telemedicine therapy.